


After the End

by SyntheticWinter



Category: Gears of War (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-21
Updated: 2013-09-21
Packaged: 2017-12-27 05:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/975037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SyntheticWinter/pseuds/SyntheticWinter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marcus's thoughts at the end of Gears of War 3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After the End

It was over. He could hardly believe it. After so many years, it was finally over.

He should be glad. He should be ecstatic. The war was over, humanity had survived, and they could start rebuilding.

He should feel that way. But he didn’t. He just felt numb. 

They’d survived – but at what cost? After everything that had happened, what was left?

He’d lost so many friends to the war, so many good people. But he’d gotten used to it. As much as he hated it, death had become just a part of life. Status quo.

At least, he’d thought he was used to it. And then… Dom. Dom had sacrificed himself so the rest of them could live. Without him, they all would have died and the war would have been lost. He was a hero.

And yet… Marcus resented him. He was too quick to give up, too willing to accept defeat. Sure, maybe they would have all died if he hadn’t taken that truck, but at least Marcus wouldn’t have to live without him. And yeah, he knew that was selfish and stupid, and he hated himself a little more every time he thought it, which was a lot lately. He hated to think he valued Dom’s life over the lives of thousands, but it was the truth.

And then his father sacrificed himself as well, and it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. His world shattered. Why the fuck did everyone he loved have to die to save him? Why did he keep getting people killed?

He could have shot Myrrah. His gun was in his hand, fully loaded. If it jammed for some reason, he had another one over his shoulder. But he was pissed. He was angry, and hurting, and he fucking wanted to make her hurt too. He wanted to look into her eyes and fucking watch her die.

It didn’t give him any peace, though. His father was still dead, lost for the second time. The world was still a wreck. All the cities were still sunk. And Dom was still gone. Somehow, that was the worst of all.

The cheering crowd bothered him. It seemed inappropriate, somehow. Disrespectful. But he knew people needed to celebrate. Life went on. He wasn’t sure it would for him.

He tossed his gun aside. Then his armor. He was done.

He left the crowd behind, left them to their fucking celebratory mood. He would just ruin it for them if he stayed. He didn’t feel like celebrating. He felt like being alone.

He stared out at the water and thought about Dom.

He wondered if he could find the place again. He wanted to go back, to see if he could find anything, to bury or to keep. Correction: he wanted someone else to go and bring him back Dom’s COG tags or something. He wanted someone else to have to deal with whatever broken, charred remains- 

He bowed his head, suddenly nauseous. He wanted someone else to do it, but he knew in the end he wouldn’t let them. Dom was his responsibility, but more than that he was Marcus’s friend, his brother. He owed it to him.

Anya joined him.

“What do we have left?” It cost him to say that, to reveal what he was thinking. But Anya didn’t laugh. She never laughed at anything he said, like Dom would have. She clearly had feelings for him, and he’d tried so hard to return them. But he couldn’t. 

“We finally have a future.” She sounded so optimistic, so hopeful. Just like everyone else. He shook off her hand when she placed it in his and stood.

“Dom doesn’t.”

She nodded, catching on to his mood. Recognizing his need to be alone. She stood and walked away, back towards the celebrating crowd, leaving him to his thoughts. Which promptly returned to Dom. Was he still there, somewhere? With Maria? Marcus wasn’t sure he believed in any sort of afterlife. But wherever Dom might have been, he hoped the man was at peace. He’d seen Dom’s eyes these last few months, since he’d found Maria. While looking for her he’d seen the anger, the desperation, but after… after, there were good days and bad days. On the bad days, Dom’s eyes were full of pain, and on those days not even Marcus could reach him. That hurt. On the good days, there was no pain, but there wasn’t anything else, either. Just a bleak nothingness, like he’d checked out. Somehow that hurt more.

And he’d gotten better, with time. The pain was still there, but most days it lurked beneath the surface. He smiled, sometimes – rarely, but the sight gave Marcus some hope. Dom had tended the plants with such focused intensity, and Marcus knew it was a coping strategy, but still he hoped that caring for something might help Dom start to heal.

He’d never seen this coming.

Or maybe he had, and he’d just been too stupid or too stubborn to recognize it. Maybe if he’d been paying more attention, if he’d been a better friend, he would have seen that Dom was still suffering. Maybe he could have stopped him. 

Maybe, maybe, maybe… He shook his head, disgusted. There was no point dwelling on the past. What was done was done. It was time to move on.

He just wasn’t sure he would be able to.


End file.
